Ocean Spray remembers Dan Hamilton

Pauls are whimsical on the surface, difficult underneath. Georges are quiet, contemplative and occasionally grumpy. Ringos are the comic relief. Dan Hamilton was a John. Passionate, kind and hopeful with just the right amount of wrong about him. Dan, VP of USA Marketing Center of Excellence at Ocean Spray, died on Dec. 8—the same day as his hero John Lennon. And just like the late Beatle, Dan also went too young. He was 53 years old. Humble to a fault, it often took some time for you to discover how bright, talented, and unbelievably cool Dan was. A trained journalist with a BA in jazz guitar and a master's in computer science, Dan spent his workdays championing and supporting great marketing and advertising. He had taste to spare—always knowing what the best idea was—but leaving plenty of space for others to catch up in their own time. Because he was kind. Over his career, Dan had too many highlights to list. He worked with the good and the great for brands including Silk, SToK, Horizon, International Delight and Oikos. He made campaigns like Progress is Perfection (Silk) and Stronger Makes Everything Better (Oikos)—as well as Then on Skin Care (Olay), Old Spice, Crest, Charmin and other experiences spanning domestic and global roles during his days at Procter & Gamble. Dan was a digital maverick at P&G, helping lead his team and mentor others in the earlier days of digital in particular on Olay, which became one of the more innovative brands in media during his tenure. And most recently at Ocean Spray, he led the inception of a new “All that Power” campaign, shepherding through our most recent holiday spot that celebrated the ubiquitous and beloved jiggly Cranberry Sauce in a chaotic expression of joy, which was recently named one of Ad Age’s 30 best spots of 2022. I met Dan at WhiteWave Foods in 2015. Our relationship began like so many others did with Dan—he was my mentor in marketing. Over the course of many years, we formed a beautiful partnership that spanned three companies, four-plus brands and several teams. Dan’s special sauce was both creative and human. He was a creative’s creative, channeling his own passions of music, art and life into putting “the coolest shit” into the world. He also created a sense of family and belonging at work that was unmatched. His teams would follow him through fire. Because they were a family—that was the Dan effect. In our last campaign together at Ocean Spray, Dan brought forth a piece of creative that—true to his spirit—required bravery to put into the world. After some spirited discussion, we agreed to launch it. I will never forget his message to me—his job was to ride unicorns and chase rainbows. Mine was to slay dragons and conquer armies. He knew the power and beauty that came from a partnership forged in building a brand and business together. I will forever miss my marketing mentor and partner in crime. When Dan wasn’t helping others realize their creative visions, he was making magic of his own, playing guitar in his band The Spookfloaters. Music was ingrained in his very being because, like life, he felt it was without rules. The rawest form of expression emotion and humanity. And like Miles Davis, he firmly believed that “it’s not about playing what’s there, but what’s not there.” Dan would often ask people, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” believing that we are no one person, but rather multiple people over the course of our lives. In pursuit of his own ongoing growth, Dan was passionate about teaching and coaching others, transmitting knowledge he’d accrued over his years in the industry and receiving knowledge back from his team, his peers and (most recently) students in marketing at Boston College. Dan's stated ambition, professionally, was to “put a dent in the universe.” In his all-too-short time on this earth, he made a super-massive hole. It will be impossible to fill.

Ocean Spray remembers Dan Hamilton

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